Guiding Light Discussion Thread

[Soapsuds]

The earliest I recall it being the theme is November 1989. I never cared for Hold On To Love. A mistake by Calhoun to switch it and have those awful still shot pictures as its closing.

Edited September 2, 2022 by Soapsuds

[SFK]

 

One of my favorites too. I’m glad that they went back to this legato like the original. I did not care for the uptempo versions.

@Spoon mentioned the long closing credits with pictures of the cast in alphabetical order. I enjoyed those as well, now more than ever, because we’ll never see the likes of such closing credits on network television again. Squished and sped through these days, there really should be a union rule against this. My friend used to insist that we sit through the entire credits when we’d go to the movies and then one night she said, “With IMDb, I don’t need to anymore”, and that was that. Besides greed for more ads and previews for the 11 o’clock news, maybe the general consensus is that credit information can be readily found online.

Are there any fan dubs of the original My Guiding Light over the Hold Onto Love opening titles? That might be pretty.

[Manny]

This was the theme used back when I first started watching GL, when they aired it in my country. I believe it was the 1988 episodes that they aired. I find myself to this day humming or whistling this theme from time to time

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[Soapsuds]

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[Contessa Donatella]

I have long been aware that the information on the IMDb has to be taken with a dubious attitude because of their errors. Yes, they're invaluable to a point. A few weeks ago I was tweeting with Patrick Mulcahey & he told me that his IMDb page and his Wikipedia page were both so wrong that he has talked one of them into taking his page down & has given up in disgust on the other one. He tried to get them both corrected. He happened to tell me that he wrote for Another World for awhile, in the months before they began work on Texas. I told Eddie, of course, but those credits exist nowhere that is accessible. Just offering up this anecdotal info as a point of interest. Me, I have a long love affair with full screen credits!

[SFK]

@TonksadoraYes indeed, IMDb and Wikipedia in particular have a long history of dubious factualness. I offer another anecdote: Some years ago, we started seeing a Secret Storm credit in Robin Strasser's online profiles and she swears she was never on the show (as Iris Ocasek) but her ex-husband, Larry Luckinbill, was.

[Contessa Donatella]

It is so discouraging that they are that bad but I'd sure rather know than think that it's safe to drink the water!

[AbcNbc247]

@DRW50

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[Contessa Donatella]

That was lovely. I miss GL. I miss Jerry verDorn.

[DRW50]

Thanks @AbcNbc247 A great reminder of what soaps used to be (although not much by 2001, admittedly) - community and heart and family. Seeing Jerry again as the statesman just makes me mourn him all over again.

[Vee]

I had no idea they'd done that. I don't remember any other soap acknowledging 9/11 at the time (though there were quick rewrites to iffy stories, such as GH scuttling JFP's plans to blow up the hospital that fall and OLTL very very rapidly reshooting the planned plane crash of Todd and Blair in Mexico the week of or after 9/11 IIRC). I always thought it was a mistake; I thought the soaps as daily serialized dramas in everyone's homes had a duty of care and to the immediate moment, just like I felt it was a mistake not to acknowledge COVID-19.

GL's tribute here is very classy and well-done, and you can tell JVD and some of the actors had a hard time getting through it.

Edited September 11, 2022 by Vee

[janea4old]

Every year, DAYS has an episode where the characters hang personalized ornaments on the Horton family Christmas tree.

From Jason47: In 2001, "Days" aired a special Christmas episode. As part of the episode, ten special ornaments were hung to honor the memory of the many lives lost on 9/11. The ten ornaments shown were: FDNY, NYPD, EMT, Father Mychal Judge, Larry Virgilio, Joe Sacerdote, Susan Pollio, Sal Zisa, Steve Schlag, and a picture of the American flag.
https://www.jason47.com/days/dayschristmas.html

[Vee]

That's a nice touch. I just wish there was more direct address or acknowledgement onscreen in dialogue or material on the shows.

[victoria foxton]

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[Contessa Donatella]

Brittany Snow & her husband announced Wed., in joint statements that they are splitting up. Brittany Snow Marriage Break Up